Stories Between Thieves
by linkmaster27
Summary: Later parts of FE10. After training, Volke and Sothe discuss Sothe's origins as a thief. A short fiction exploring a friendship of two people with the same profession.


**Author's Note: An idea I had with Volke and Sothe. They are two awesome characters in FE 9 and 10 and this idea came to me. Hope you enjoy! Takes place inFE10.  
****Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.**

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"…Not bad, kid."

"Really? I almost tripped while trying to do that move."

"I noticed that. But your hand technique is impeccable. Totally independent of the knife you're using. I like that. Well done."

Sothe felt as if he was going to blush.

"Do you mind if we take a break? We've been training for two straight hours."

Volke chuckled. "Standard training time. It's alright, though. You're still somewhat of a rookie."

Sothe sighed heavily.

"Hey kid- don't worry. Everyone's a rookie at some point. When I first got into this line of work, I dropped the knife almost every time. You're actually quite skilled – what gave you so much experience to start with? You were with us three years ago, but you were just a kid. Your skill was good, especially for your age – but now, it's completely different."

"Stealing and fighting for my life in Daein, as usual."

"Come on, kid. I may not say much – but I can definitely tell when there's more that someone's not telling me. It's that silver-haired woman with us, right? Name begins with a M? Sorry, but I haven't been around long enough to get acquainted with everyone for know. You'll have to bear with me."

"Micaiah."

"Right. So…?"

"We took care of each other. I was so small then…" Sothe chuckled. "She probably took care of me more than I did for her."

Volke chuckled loudly through the cloth covering his face. Hearing this, Sothe choked up, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"…What's… so funny?"

"Nothing. I apologize. Continue."

_That was weird_. "Anyway… at times, even though she didn't like it, I would have to steal, "borrow" something, or sneak my way around town. There was this one time, during the early parts of the Mad King's War, where every able-bodied man was conscripted to fight. Naturally, that left cities open to become much of what Daein was like after the war – poor and full of crime. Before Micaiah and I got separated, and I eventually joined Ike's group, we were walking through Nevassa when a gang of bandits attacked us. Micaiah told me to run, but for some reason – be it courage or boyish pride – I whipped out my knife, and started to charge at one of the bandits."

"Impressive, yet foolish."

"True. One of the bandits kicked me to the ground. Then, I watched as Micaiah was almost killed, barely being able to use her defensive magic, trying to save both of our lives. Then, something took me. Love, rage, whatever it was – I got up and stood between them. And it suddenly clicked. My being small was an advantage. I used quick moves to take care of them. Of course, I had no clue what I was doing in the moment. Only when I really thought about it later, it seemed to make sense."

"Must have been hard."

"Yeah. I cried for so long, apologizing to Micaiah for almost getting us killed. It took an hour before I finally settled down and she reassured me that everything was okay."

"Hmm…" the assassin grazed his chin with his fingers.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Continue."

Sothe disregarded the interruption this time. "After that day, I spent every moment of my free time, practicing hand movements with a knife, make sure that I would never put Micaiah and I in a situation like that again."

"Quite a story."

"Yeah… Volke… can I ask you something? I don't mean to be offensive, or something… but…"

"What is it?"

"Why are you talking to me like this? I mean, I'm glad we are, it's just, anytime somebody asks you something, you tell them a price that they'll never pay to hear it. Why did you want to talk to me?"

"Let's just say, kid, that we all have our stories. I wanted to hear yours."

"Really? What was yours?"

"Twenty thousand."

Sothe sighed. "It's alright Volke. Maybe, one of these days, you'll tell me for free."

"Maybe. Come on, kid. Pick that knife up and let's train. I still have more to teach you."

Sothe smiled, picking up his knife. "Looking forward to it."

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**There it is! Hopefully, you all like it. I thought it would be interesting – I love both Sothe and Volke in Radiant Dawn and this was a scenario I thought of the other day. Please review and leave your comments and suggestions! As well, I have an idea for Volke's story – please let me know if I should write the next chapter. Thanks for reading!**


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